You are here:Home→World News→France to tackle the issue of French Jihadists in Syria

France to tackle the issue of French Jihadists in Syria

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

PARIS - France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will present on Wednesday a plan to tackle the issue of French nationals fighting in Syria, according to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The plan is due to be revealed to the public after being discussed at the weekly ministerial meeting Wednesday, Fabius told Radio Luxembourg RTL on Tuesday.

He explained that the government will take measures to deal with the issue but it must first identify all those attempting to travel to Syria to fight, especially young people, "who are brought to this tragic drift."

Fabius said this plan "implies a cyber surveillance because many things are done on the Internet."

He added that the next steps include halting and preventing potential fighters from crossing the border.

The number of French people fighting in Syria is currently estimated to be 500 according to Fabius.

He said some of the fighters who held four French journalists hostage until they were released on Saturday spoke French.

On Monday, the far-right National Front party said the citizenship of those attempting to fight in Syria should be revoked.

U.S. intelligence reports say that the number of foreign fighters in Syria rose from 1,000 at the beginning of the conflict to 8,000 currently fighting for different rebel factions.